The AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Award 2013: Volkswagen continues to be the most innovative OEM Mercedes-Benz wins in the brand ranking

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1 Press release The AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Award 2013: Volkswagen continues to be the most innovative OEM Mercedes-Benz wins in the brand ranking AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Award 2013 from CAM and PwC: Volkswagen continues to be by far the most innovative manufacturer / Mercedes-Benz pulls ahead of BMW as the most innovative automobile brand / Bosch wins two out of five of the Supplier awards Frankfurt am Main, May 2, The Center of Automotive Management (CAM) and PwC have announced that this year s Most Innovative Automotive OEM award goes to the Volkswagen Group. The company won the AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Award 2013 in this key category. Volkswagen s innovative strength was shown by a particularly high number of innovations spanning a broad technical range. In contrast to nearly all of its competitors, Volkswagen actually increased its innovation rating versus last year. In the competition for most innovative brand, Mercedes-Benz took the lead this year. Audi improved significantly from last year, moving up to second place from last year s eighth, nudging out last year s winner BMW. Professor Dr. Stefan Bratzel from CAM says The automotive industry is undergoing a paradigm shift in many key areas of technology. That makes strength in innovation especially important for success; indeed, even for survival. As Professor Dr. Bratzel explains German manufacturers are clearly worldwide leaders in innovation, with Volkswagen at the forefront. That s providing a strong basis for profitable growth. But German automotive companies shouldn t rest on their laurels; the dynamics of today s technology are changing rapidly, and the competitive balance can shift just as quickly. The competitiveness of the German automobile industry is strikingly illustrated by the fact that the manufacturer which was recognized as the most innovative - 1 -

2 automotive company and the brand which came out as the most innovative are both German. With its clear commitment to research and innovation, Germany s positioning within the premium sector is especially dominant. When it came down to choosing the most innovative brand, CAM ranked a German premium brand not only in the lead, but also in second and third place, says Felix Kuhnert, Head of PwC s Automotive Division in Germany and Europe. The AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Awards are based on a rigorous analysis of the CAM database on innovations. For the eighth year in a row, CAM systematically gathered technical innovations from 18 global automotive OEMs with 52 brands and evaluated them in terms of both quantity and quality. Only changes that offer a noticeable additional benefit to the customer are classified as innovations. To be considered, innovations must already be available or have been submitted in the form of a developed prototype. In 2012, CAM evaluated 791 innovations developed by automotive OEMs. Germany s automotive manufacturers generated 39 percent of all the tracked innovations, while Japanese manufacturers captured 23 percent marks the first year that CAM and PwC are awarding a special prize for innovation within the important technological field of Alternative powertrain in series production. And for the first time the AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Awards is also recognizing car suppliers in five additional categories. The winners in the eight OEM categories of the AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Award 2013 Category Winner Number of innovations of which are world firsts Innovation strength index The most innovative automotive OEM Volkswagen AG nd place Daimler AG rd place Toyota Motor Corp

3 The most innovative automotive brand Mercedes-Benz nd place Audi rd place BMW Conventional powertrain Alternative powertrain Safety systems Connected car Vehicle concepts Special prize: Alternative powertrain in series production Volkswagen AG Volkswagen AG Daimler AG Volkswagen AG Renault Toyota Daimler leads in making cars safer OEMs are showing an outstanding commitment to making cars safer. With a total of 209 innovations in the category for Safety systems CAM has recorded 30 percent more innovations here than in the previous year. That s also more than four times as many as in 2006, when there was a total of just 52 innovations in this category. In 2013 the prize for innovation in this category goes to Daimler with 26 innovations. These were rated with an average score of 1.34 index points, showing a high level of originality. Volkswagen had more innovations in terms of sheer numbers but a considerably lower average score. That s because in many cases existing innovations were adapted from one brand to another. The innovations within the field of road safety and driver assistance systems show that the automotive industry is already making rapid progress towards achieving such future visions as zero traffic accidents and autonomous driving. German - 3 -

4 manufacturers such as Daimler and Volkswagen/Audi are technological leaders in this area. Nowadays, innovative vehicles can already independently prevent a variety of accidents, protecting both the driver and other road users. At the same time autonomous driving is already a partial reality. In the future, drivers will be able to let the car take over in certain situations, for example in stop-and-go traffic or on the freeway, explains Prof Dr. Bratzel, who directed the research. Volkswagen once again came out on top in the categories for technical excellence in Conventional powertrain as well as Alternative powertrain. The company introduced the most innovations. Volkswagen also realized substantial gains in efficiency by widely introducing new engines, for example with cylinder deactivation, as well as by means of alternative engine types such as hybrids or natural gas engines. This year s special prize for excellence in alternative engines already in series production goes to Toyota. The clear Japanese victory in this category is a result of several high-scoring innovations achieving an average of 2.1 index points. Six of the eight innovations are parallel full hybrid models from Lexus and Toyota, which have achieved considerably improved fuel economy in all cases. Toyota has not only made the hybrid socially acceptable, but remains the driving force in this field with the highest degree of innovative maturity. Renault comes to the fore with vehicle concepts Renault wins this year s award as the most innovative company in the Vehicle Concept category which included completely new kinds of vehicles or new vehicle body concepts. The Twizy, a new vehicle concept for use in the city, was Renault's most spectacular innovation in the past year. With this vehicle Renault introduced the first electric car in a lower price bracket. Volkswagen AG received the best rating in the Connected Cars category which includes information and communication systems. The Volkswagen group led due to the large number of innovations (31). With seven index points, Audi made the greatest contribution to the corporation s strong results. The A3 scores particularly well here in terms of technology. Toyota was second in the category with 15 innovations. Bosch wins two out of five Supplier Awards - 4 -

5 For the first time this year, the AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Awards included categories for suppliers as well as OEMs. Bosch had the strongest showing among suppliers, leading up both powertrain categories and also taking first in the Electrics/Electronics category. Not only the number, but also the originality and significance of the innovations proved a deciding factor for Bosch s wins. ZF Friedrichshafen AG took first prize in Chassis, while Brose led in the category Bodywork and exterior. The final award for excellence in the Interiors category went to Johnson Controls. The pole position of the German car manufacturers owes a strong debt to the innovative skill of German automotive suppliers. They won the first AutomotiveINNOVATION Awards for suppliers in four out of five categories. Promoting close links between manufacturers and suppliers is a decisive factor for the continued success of the German automotive economy. The premium requirements from the German manufacturers often push suppliers to top performances, commented Felix Kuhnert, PwC automotive expert. For further information: Press contact: PricewaterhouseCoopers AG Center of Automotive Management (CAM) Sven Humann Prof. Dr. Stefan Bratzel Press Department Director Tel.: +49 (69) Tel.: +49 (2202) sven.humann@de.pwc.com stefan.bratzel@auto-institut.de About PwC - 5 -

6 PwC offers services which are specific to industry, within the fields of audit, tax consulting and corporate consultancy. In these areas we create the value are clients are looking for. In our international network more than 180,000 employees in 158 countries develop new perspectives and practical solutions with their ideas, their experience and their expertise. In Germany PwC achieves a total performance of approximately 1.49 billion at 28 locations with 9,300 employees. About CAM The Center of Automotive Management (CAM) is as an independent institute for empirical automotive research as well as for strategic consultation based in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. The Automotive Institute supports its customers by drawing on extensive automobile databases, especially on innovations relating to vehicle technology within the automotive industry. With far more than 5,000 individually evaluated innovations from car manufacturers and automotive suppliers which are updated several times throughout the year, the CAM Innovations database has valuable knowledge in all relevant fields of technology. By means of established expertise in the industry and an intimate understanding of the market, the Automotive Institute compiles individual market research concepts and practical solutions for its customers from the automotive and mobility sector